Il Quattordicesimo Storia: Riunificata
Dawn crept over the flat horizon. Two such crimson mornings greeted him since his departure from Regalo. Dante retracted his spyglass and returned it to the pocket of his large black duster. It would be a matter of minutes before his small armada made port at the prosperous city-state of Fortuna. His thoughts were cluttered with its major imports and exports and the key political figures of the island. Not that these minor details bore any significance to the matter at hand. It was a force of habit that could not be overcome.
His spine tingled with the ill-fated wind that filled the sails of the enormous frigate under his command. However, he learned long ago not to question the wishes of the Family's matriarch. Even if her only motivation was a mere flight of fancy. Alongside Mondo, these were ships that sailed at her command. And the woman seemed to have an uncanny ability to predict the events, a mysterious clairvoyance that guided the hands of Arcana Famiglia. He had little other choice than to trust her.
He heaved a weary sigh and let the salty spray wash across face as the ship turned into the small inlet where the harbor lay. After the frigate was tied down at the moorings, Dante set the plank into the wooden dock. As soon as his feet touched dry land, he was met by a contingent of soldiers. Their burnished helmets reflected the new sunlight brilliantly.
"Good day, sirs. I've come at the request of your governatore, Guiseppe Ratti," Dante greeted the assemblage with a curt bow. A young blonde man stepped forward from the rank and file to address him.
"Well met, Regaldo. We know your intent. The governatore will be made aware of your arrival. Please allow us to accompany you to the Ratti estate. Your countrymen and the object of your interest await within." The soldier turned on his heel and gestured towards his fellow soldiers to move out. They took their positions at his side and formed a formal escort, guiding him through the cobblestone streets that bustled with the early morning activity. He could not help but to draw comparisons between the daily lives of the citizenry and those of his home.
The shops and taverns gave way to residential districts that increased in grandeur until they reached their destination at the top of a prominent hill, overlooking the city. The soldiers retracted from the escort formation, and Dante was ushered into the grand foyer of the governatore's personal estate. In silence the blonde-haired captain led him through the labyrinthine network of hallways, before pausing.
"This way," the guard gestured down a hall paneled in radiant white wainscotting, pristine in the morning light that streamed through the tall French style windows. A young woman in a nurse's attire bobbed a short curtsy as they passed. Growing concern clenched the experienced captain's chest as a series of worst case scenarios cycled through his thoughts, each one more grave than the last. There was no telling what the pirate girl would do when backed into the corner. Dante wondered what transpired in the time that elapsed between the report and his arrival.
The guard halted at a tall framed doorway, identical to the others in the hall. After two short knocks the door opened in, and they stepped inside to be greeted by his subordinate, cheerful, if not a bit worse for the wear.
"Dante! What are you doing here?" Liberta asked, his aquamarine eyes wide with shock.
"New orders," Dante said. He took a seat in the wooden chair adjacent to the bed and watched the boy favor his shoulder as he finished dressing himself in a starched white shirt. Dante eyed the bandages binding Liberta's chest and shoulder suspiciously. He sighed wearily. "For better or worse, I'm here to bring the girl in."
Dante did not expect the reaction he received from his subordinate. Suddenly animated, Liberta's hands shot up in a defensive posture, as his voice rose several decibels. "Whoa-whoa! Wait a minute! That's what you're here to do? What's going to happen to her after that? Besides that, what about Fortuna and the war?"
"I doubt that you've forgotten your purpose here. Regardless, 'whatever it takes' doesn't leave a whole lot of room for argument, does it, boy?" Dante groused.
"No, I guess it doesn't," Liberta sighed, begrudgingly. "Looks like you have a lot to tell the others. Let's get it done and over with."
A painful tightness surged in his chest. The mere sight of her brought icy fingers snaking around Debito's throat, restricting his breathing.
"I don't know how much more of this I can stand," he muttered beneath his breath.
His words must have reached her, because the pirate turned to face him in the darkness. Frozen daggers glistened in her cold glare. An imperceptible shiver shuddered across his spine as the chill night breeze ghosted across the back of his neck, tugging at her unruly auburn locks, their color muted in the heavy darkness. His quietly spat his muttered curses against it for carrying his words.
Silently she reached into her pocket, glanced at her compass and up towards the stars in the clear black sky. The creaking of the teak-wood deck below their feet and the wind rippling across the thick, black canvas sails rose to the fill vacuum left by her expected response.
"It won't be long yet," she finally responded curtly, snapping shut the compass with a resounding click. He heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry that Il Diavolo isn't equipped with the luxuries Your Lordship is accustomed to. He is a warship, after all."
"Your Lordship? So, I'm a lord, now?" Debito asked, irritated and dumbfounded.
"But of course. I don't suppose that your Dante would have sent a common cutthroat to spy on me, now would he?" Amica accused.
In part, she wasn't far off the mark. The full breadth of the truth was worse still. The thought of this woman in the Arcana Famiglia… It was too much to bear. Fruitlessly, he had tried to convince himself she was his enemy. An ideology that he clinged to with the fervent desperation of a drowning man clutching driftwood. The thundering at his pulsepoint revealed the falsehood for what it was. A simple denial that he stamped down. She was his enemy. She must be. For if she wasn't, she was something more dangerous still. He wondered at Dante's choice. Why couldn't it be Liberta? Given the circumstances, Liberta was better suited to such a role. Evidently, it was one that he wanted to play. An unnamed emotion flared in his chest. He ran his hand through his silvery hair in an attempt to banish it from the discomfort from his thoughts.
"I'm not here to spy on you. I'm here to ensure the cooperation between the fleets," he parrotted back Dante's words. Amica rolled her eyes in dismissal.
"Oh, yes. So I've been told. You're a diplomat now. You're a man that wears many hats, Leader of Coin," Amica balked.
The fire in her violet eyes captured his. In a silent admission, he knew she was more appealing now that she wasn't swaddled in noble's garb. It changed her entire aura, even the way she carried herself, like an untamable wild creature. Like she had been on the day they met.
"Bambina…" he sighed, slightly chuckling at the futility of his new orders. "You're an impossible woman."
Amica exhaled dismissively, the ghost of a smile crept across her lips as she turned her attention towards steering the warship. Debito, feeling strangely refreshed himself, sauntered off towards the bow to enjoy what was left of the night.
A/N: I've left this simmering for a couple of weeks now. I got a little distracted with the festivities leading up to Anime Midwest. It was a great time, saw a lot of great cosplays, and I met a lot of great people. In turn this fueled a different kind of inspiration. I've been spending the majority of my time, when not working, busting my tail making a mask for my future Haku cosplay. For those of you not entirely hip to the magical fandom that is Naruto, Haku appears in the original series in, I don't know, four or five episodes. He plays the side-kick for the extremely exciting Momochi Zabuza-sama. Gotta admit, I'm a fan of Zabuza-sama. I've heard although, not personally seen (haven't made it through the Great Shinobi War arc on Naruto Shippuden yet. I started to run out of gas on protracted monologues and elaborate back-stories for characters that are going to die in the next episode. I have this crippling suspicion that Jiraiya-sama is next. I just finished two full-length episodes of flash-backs into his past... So it's like a hammer coming down in slow-motion and I'm just praying I'm wrong. I'll probably cry like the wussy girl that I am.) Anyway, I digress... I hear that they make a reappearance due to some reanimation summoning Jutsu. And their eyes turn creepy. See what I mean? So exciting! That's the sort of unexpected twists of fate I've come to expect out of my favorite tsundere villain.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. This is the Fourteenth Story: Reunification. Dante and Liberta have joined forces to try to bring Amica to heel. Debito has been assigned as a political liaison, and we're headed towards the big meeting of all the captains under Amica's command. Will be Amica be successful in rallying her armada? Will the next chapter spend two weeks growing stale in my Google Drive? Who knows? Find out next time on Il Diavolo del Mare! (A story that is rapidly becoming less about the synopsis and more convoluted with each posting!)